


Don't Be Scared

by SlasherFiend



Category: Bad Times at the El Royale (2018), High-Rise (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dubious Consent, Dubiously Consensual Blow Jobs, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Kidnapping, M/M, Period-Typical Homophobia, Pre-Canon, Smoking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-29
Updated: 2018-10-29
Packaged: 2019-08-09 06:46:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,084
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16444856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SlasherFiend/pseuds/SlasherFiend
Summary: Laing sees a new man at the high rise one night, a strange man with an American accent. As the high rise falls apart Laing himself needing guidance. He never guessed it would come in the form of Billy Lee.





	Don't Be Scared

**Author's Note:**

> first off I borrowed the theme of Laing needing to find his place and it being that he submits from The Legacy of Anthony Royal which is an orphan account fic but it's amazing.  
> second I have this set pre canon for Bad Times only as I couldn't find another point to insert Billy.  
> I have the period homophobia tags even though no one comes right out and says anything awful.  
> And I wrote this because I could, I wanted more of Tom and Chris's characters interacting.

Laing was losing himself, drifting in and out of work and life at the high rise so he didn’t know what day it was, let alone where he was sometimes.

 

When the morning push came to get to their cars he found himself panicking and heading the other way, back to the safety of his room.

 

He felt some unseen force pulling at his seams that he wanted to scream or cry, or both. He just needed something, some guidance to show him where he belonged. Not just in the world, but at the high rise.

 

He was drifting, and he found comfort in nothing and he yearned for anything.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

There was a storm one night that the howling wind echoed through the high rise to only amplify the screams that were already there.

 

Laing went down to the lobby, to smoke, he didn’t want to look out over the balcony of his room to the dark parking lot full of flickering lights and laughing cars.

 

As Laing let the cigarette burn from his fingers he heard someone hit the bell at the desk. Strange, who wanted to check in the high rise now, at this time of night?

 

Laing turned to see a man with an unbuttoned white shirt and low-slung blue jeans leaning at the counter, soaking wet.

 

The man hit the bell again and a man came around the corner to talk to him.

 

Laing went back to listening to the wind and his cigarette.

 

Then there was a sharp thud as the man slammed his hands on the counter and Laing turned to see the man in blue jeans lean back with a smile.

 

“Fine! You’ll just have to clean up my shit when I leave in the morning.” He turned to leave, ignoring the shrug from the man at the counter and spotted Laing staring. The man grinned, it wasn’t friendly.

 

Laing glanced away and put his cigarette out, before heading to his room, but the man American’s accent followed him. Why was he here?

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

The next morning Laing made it to work somehow and spent all day staring at blank graphs and files while his secretary tried to get him to eat.

 

He mumbled something about eating when he got home and waited for night to fall.

 

He trudged out to his car as the sun set, casting its sticky glow over everything and tossed his briefcase in the open window of the passenger seat. He opened the driver door and thought he heard something. He looked around and saw some trash blow by. He got in and went back to the high rise.

 

~~~~~~~~~~

 

That night he tried to go to a party, or find Wilder, anything to take his mind in a different direction then where it was headed, a dark place or a lonely one that made his skin crawl.

 

Thankfully Wilder was entertaining with booze and smokes.

 

Laing had no interest in any female company, not now.

 

There was something uneasy in the slow slide of life in the high rise and Laing was trying to make sure he didn’t get caught up in the madness, even if it was tempting.

 

Each night stretched into eternity and got worse with each sickly dawn.

 

“Seen some man wandering around the lower levels, think he’s from America and the fucker’s creepy,” Wilder said, snapping Laing out of his blank thoughts.

 

“What? You’ve seen him too?” Laing leaned to put his cigarette out in the overflowing ashtray.

 

“Yeah, he’s got this oil slick smile and stares at everyone as they come out for work. I threatened to knock him out if he didn’t leave.”

 

“What did he say?”

 

“Laughed and wanted to know about you. Maybe he works for Royal.” Wilder took a puff of his cigarette and glanced side long at Laing. “You’re not fucking Royal, are you?”

 

Laing opened his mouth, to protest.

 

“Because that would be a great way to get into his good graces.”

 

Laing shook his head. “I’m not that kind of person.”

 

Wilder grunted. “Good. I’ve got an idea.” He got up and wandered off.

 

Laing went back to his room.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Laing didn’t make it to work until two days later, after having decided he didn’t want to be around the deteriorating high rise anymore.

 

His hands shook as he stared at the files, he felt ill, he didn’t want to be here, he didn’t want this anymore. He didn’t know what he wanted, he had nothing.

 

He drew obscene cartoons in the file margins and toppled his books off his shelves, blocked the door with his chair and laid out on his desk.

 

He felt a little bit better, but it didn’t fill the empty space where his soul was. He ached for something, he knew it wasn’t religion or God, he had already figured that out by being in the high rise and the death he had caused.

 

He closed his eyes and listened to the sounds around the building.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Laing awoke to darkness.

 

His heart hammered in his chest and he rolled on his side, reaching into his pocket to pull his lighter out. He bit his lip as he flicked it open and saw metal inches from his face. He was in a car boot.

 

He slapped his hand against it, anger flaring up for a second.

 

The car only hit a bump, which made Laing groan as he was jostled.

 

He waited as the car went through the streets, around corners and paused every so often.

 

He hoped he would be able to make it back to the high rise. He didn’t want to die in some back alley. He didn’t have anything of worth and while he was no one at the high rise, he was at least useful there, or so he hoped.

 

Suddenly the car came to a stop and the driver’s door slammed.

 

The boot opened, and a man peered in.

 

“Howdy.”

 

Laing blinked in the dim light from a street lamp.

 

Then he was pulled out of the boot by the American man. Even in the flickering light Laing could see the man’s bronze chest, his eyes flicked to the man’s face.

 

He smiled. “See something you like?”

 

Laing blushed hard. “No. Do you mind telling me why you kidnapped me?”

 

“I didn’t. I just figured you were going to be a hassle, so I got you alone. To talk.”

 

Laing looked around and realized they were in the parking lot outside the high rise. “About what?”

 

The man leaned on the boot and pulled out a cigarette.

 

The man let his eyes roam over Laing for a long moment. “You got a light?”

 

Laing clutched his lighter in his hand, having flicked it off some time ago to not waste the oil.

 

The man moved closer to Laing. There was a glint in his eyes, a darkness, not madness or instability but it was a similar one to Wilder and a few of Royal’s friends had.

 

Laing offered the lighter.

 

The man grabbed Laing’s hand and used it to open the lighter and light his cigarette.

 

The man puffed smoke out and he nodded at the high rise. “Seems like you’re looking for a place to be.”

 

Laing tried to pull his hand away. “That’s not true.”

 

“Isn’t it? You looked out of it at work, scattered, lost. I know that feeling. I think I can offer you a solution.”

 

“I don’t even know you.”

 

“Name’s Billy Lee.”

 

“And what is an American doing here?”

 

Billy smiled, he pressed closer to Laing, the inner darkness wanted to play. “I’m looking for people, I know there are others that feel like me. I have ideas, I can help them.”

 

Laing shivered, he had a feeling Billy’s help wasn’t what anyone really needed.

 

“Now, since I held up my end and told you all that, you got to do something for me.”

 

“I didn’t-“ But Laing realized he was too late to get out of Billy’s trap.

 

Billy pushed Laing down onto his knees. “You want somewhere to belong, don’t you? The system inside that building says you must stay where you are, or it will eat you alive. But somehow, you’ve managed to escape that by playing all sides. And yet you still are unfulfilled. I’m here to bring you to peace on that front.”

 

Billy unzipped his pants and pulled out his cock.

 

Laing jerked away, to get to his feet.

 

“Oh, hey now, I gave you what you want, now you give me what I want.”

 

“I’m not like that, I don’t-“

 

“Not even to try?”

 

"Why would I want to try it?”

 

Billy gripped Laing’s hair. “Because if you don’t, you’re not walking back into that place to fuck the missus of the guy with the video camera behind his back.”

 

Laing gasped. How did Billy know-?

 

Billy pulled Laing’s face towards his cock. “Go on, it won’t be so bad. I’ll even tell you what this is all for if you do.”

 

Laing glanced up at Billy before putting tentative hands around Billy’s hips. His fingers brushed cold metal of a gun and he recoiled.

 

“That’s not the truth I was going to tell you.”

 

Laing’s stomach flip flopped, and he leaned in to take Billy’s cock into his mouth.

 

Billy groaned softly. “That’s it.” Billy gazed at the high rise in the distance. “Make sure to keep your teeth out of the way when you suck.”

 

Laing tried, tried to mimic what some of the ladies had done when he had indulged them. It seemed like eons ago.

 

“Not half bad for your first time,” Billy grunted.

 

Laing pulled his hands away from Billy’s warm back, not aware of what he was doing.

 

“Bob on it a little.” Billy tugged at Laing’s hair.

 

Laing flinched, but did it, and Billy moaned.

 

“See, this is your place. This is what you need.”

 

Laing pulled back, off Billy’s cock. “What? I’m not-“

 

“I know, you’ve said. Quit saying it before you make me mad.” Billy sighed. “I mean your place is to get on your knees like a bitch. It can be for anyone, I’m sure if the missus asked you to, you’d do it, wouldn’t you?”

 

Laing blinked. “I-I don’t know.”

 

“And that’s why I know it to be true. Because your place to belong is at someone else’s control.” Billy gripped Laing’s chin and eased him back onto his cock. “Keep going.”

 

Laing tried for a few moments more and Billy groaned.

 

“Fuck yeah.” He ran his hands over his chest and pushed his cock into Laing’s mouth.

 

Laing choked and tried to pull off.

 

Billy grabbed the back of Laing’s head and used his mouth.

 

Hot shame burned in Laing’s belly, but also a desire. A desire to change. Laing knew what he had to do.

 

Billy’s lips tugged into a smile. “See? I was right. Now to make sure you don’t forget this…”

 

Billy slid his cock out of Laing’s mouth and stroked himself, cuming with a sharp grunt over Laing’s face, splashing across his cheek and eye, into his hair.

 

Laing had thankfully closed his eyes, then opened the one that Billy’s cum wasn’t stuck to.

 

Laing went to wipe the fluid away, but Billy pulled his hands away.

 

“You’re going back like that.”

 

Laing’s eye widened.

 

“If anyone sees you, they’ll know what place you belong to. One to be used.” Billy tucked himself away and got Laing to his feet.

 

Billy leaned against the boot of the car and waited for Laing to start walking.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Laing made it back to his room thankfully with barely anyone seeing him.

 

There were some eyes from doorways and corners. But there were fires now and the garbage chute was beyond clogged. Something was going on.

 

Laing stood in the middle of his room and used his shirt to wipe Billy’s cum off his face. Desire burned through his blood. He needed blue paint.

 

He headed to the grocery store in the dark.

 

~~~~~~~

 

It took nearly beating someone and a mad dash back, but he had succeeded in spending the night painting his room and himself, settling into the high rise, finally. Perhaps he had needed Billy’s guidance after all.

 

The rest of the building was already unstable and sinking into madness. It would only be time before Royal or Wilder did something.

 

Laing went and invited Helen to his room, guiding her to his bed.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm shipperfiendobssesser on tumblr and I don't know how to link that here.  
> Tell me if I missed a tag please.


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